Our Viking Vacation, Day 1

Lufthansa 

It's always an exciting time as you embark upon your trip. The joy of being in an airport 2 hours ahead of your flight and guessing on traffic to get to SFO so you don't get stressed.

At the airport a solid 3 hours early and ready to go. This was going to be an epic Viking River Cruise and #euopeanvacation. Why does this hashtag have a certain familiarity? Anyhow, this was not our first trip to Europe but it was our first flights with Lufthansa. How would it be? Where would they stack up against other airlines we have flown with? Well let us say it felt a bit underwhelming. We left 30 min late. Not finished loading the catering. Not very German but may have nothing to do with them. Efficient and effective flight crew without much else (may we say stereotypical German).

So was it good or bad? It was actually neither. Food? OK. Wine and beer, OK. Entertainment system was OK with limited options and pretty clunky. 

Overall we give  a rating of  'Yeah it's OK'. We did end up arriving on time in Frankfurt. Just as well as we had to hike 24 gates to the end of the terminal go downstairs and hike back 24 gates (not very German). The second leg from Frankfurt to Paris was short and over in no time. Getting off and getting luggage easy enough and just as advertised, as we exited our Viking host was there to greet and take care of us.

From here our #europeanvacation now start. 

Happy Travel Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout

Worlds top 10 city to visit. #9 Adelaide

Mclaren Vale.

Recently, there has been a bit of a buzz in one of our home towns, as it was named the #9 of the Worlds Top Ten Cities to Visit by Lonely Planet. That town is Adelaide. Having already told tens of people this in recent years, it feels a bit like validation.

Adelaide Hills

When you grow up in a town, for some reason makes it harder to appreciate. But having been gone for the better part of three decades, those childhood memories take on a more golden filtered hue. Adelaide, or probably more accurately South Australia, from first hand knowledge, has a remarkable number of amazing places to experience. Follow this link for a list of some of the fav's. In the last decade or so, it has become even more obvious with every visit back home that Adelaide is an amazing place to base a holiday/vacation from.

We have written a number of posts about some of our Adventures, and even a couple on areas that we loved. Recently it was decided to try to do a bit more of a travel series on a couple of selected areas. With that in mind the next big decision was, which areas? With only a fortnight to cram it all in, making a choice for the first two features was anything but easy (refer to link).

Southern Barossa Valley

Besides writing about these experiences, there is family to spend time with and friends to visit and hang out with so time is precious.

In the end we decided there will be a Holiday/Tourist trip article on the Barossa Valley, then a series of day trips to places like the Adelaide Hills, McLaren Vale as well as a few Adelaide City area attractions. We have some exciting things lined up in the Barossa already and can't wait to have the experience, get the story and tell you all about what you can expect when you book your holiday / vacation to the spectacular Barossa. Rest assured there will be great stories! Maybe even some friends of WineWalkabout savings to be had! So stay tuned...

All of the Adventures with people, places and things will hopefully capture your attention and help highlight what Lonely Planet has just discovered and we have know for years. Adelaide, or South Australia is a world class tourist destination with fantastic offerings. You can follow along for the daily / hourly updates as to where we are, and what we are doing, with twitter at winewalkabout@kiwiandkoala

Hahndorf

It is with great excitement that in a couple of weeks WineWalkabout will be on the loose in Adelaide. There are so many beautiful places to go and stay and see as well as fantastic food and of course the world renown wines its hard to know where to begin.
If you see us about, come on over and say g'day and tell us about your favorite Adelaide Adventure. If there is someone or something you feel we must meet or experience, shoot us an email, there is always room for one more great story! 

Happy Adventures,

Cheers,

WineWalkabout

Kiwi & Koala
South Aust Video
Another Sth Aussie Video

Blue Lake